172 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Pub. Doc. 



syrup, just as good as any, just as nutritious as any, maybe ; 

 but it is a fraud, absolutely fraudulent in its character, and 

 therefore is an adulterated article, although not injurious 

 to health, and should be excluded from the markets if sold 

 under the name of maple syrup. 



Fortunately, we have now a law on the federal statute 

 book which prevents the naming of a product manufactured 

 in one State with the name of another State. It is a law 

 which says that no food or dairj^ product shall be misbranded 

 in respect to the State or Territory where it is made ; and 

 now we are compelling the Chicago proprietors of this maple 

 business to leave the word "Vermont" off, but the law 

 doesn't say anything about " maple," unfortunately, — they 

 can put that on, and do. So that they no longer sell the 

 Vermont maple syrup, as they did two years ago, but sell 

 "Pure maple syrup."' It leaves Vermont otf, but has no 

 regard for the consumer. 



Now, you can see how such practices touch the farmer 

 financially, because the proprietors of real maple syrup, the 

 growers of the maple and those who do make real maple 

 syrup, are brought into competition with an artificial article, 

 which brings their product down below the price of profit. 

 This is a direct blow to agriculture. 



Again, let me refer to dairy products. You have all 

 heard of oleomargarine. No man who has ever investigated 

 the subject from a hygienic point of view, or in regard to 

 the nutritious qualities of the article, can say anything 

 against oleomargarine. It is a good, wholesome, proper 

 food, — that is, when it is made as it should be made, and 

 very bad when it isn't. There is nothing to be said against 

 oleomargarine as to the matter of nutrition and of injury to 

 health, when it is properly made. To my mind, it has the 

 same right on the market as any other food product, and 

 the laws against it are unjust laws, as they make class dis- 

 tinction. The crime of oleomargarine is in appearing under 

 a false name, and deceiving the consumer; that is where 

 oleomargarine must be struck, because it is fraudulent when 

 sold as butter. The man who sells it for butter steals your 

 money the same as if he put his hand in your pocket, and 



